Antigone, Sophocles And Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
1787 Words8 Pages
STUDENT SAMPLE 1
HL
With reference to at least two literary texts that you have studied, discuss the extent to which they reveal the prevailing values and beliefs of the periods and places in which the texts are written or set.
Antigone, Sophocles and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee
Even when literature is categorized as works of fiction, writers will always reflect or defy the views of their societies or audiences, whether to create a connection between the viewers and the work, or to generate an emotional response. This is seen in both Antigone, by Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by American playwright Edward Albee, which reflect the opinions of their real-life cultural settings. Who’s Afraid was first performed in New York in 1962, at a time when the media and television industry portrayed politicians, celebrities, and fictional characters as having perfect lives through a happy family and a successful job. Albee, who had grown up in an affluent household, disliked the unspoken standards set by the American upper class at the time, and instead turned to the avant-garde art scene of New York’s bohemian side. Who’s Afraid stemmed from his desire to depict the reality behind the perfect marriages that socialites seemed to have. Like Albee, Sophocles incorporated an important aspect of the Ancient Greek beliefs into Antigone, using the tragedy to voice his belief in the significance of divine power. Both